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Wayne State Becomes Zipcar Auto Sharing Partner

DETROIT (WWJ) – Wayne State University has joined the Zipcar Inc. collegiate car sharing network.

This cost-effective, convenient transportation option will be available 24 hours a day, seven days a week to Wayne State students, faculty and staff age 18 and older.

Zipcar has more than 605,000 members sharing more than 9,000 vehicles in urban areas and college campuses throughout the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom. Zipcar offers more than 30 makes and models of self-service vehicles by the hour or day to residents looking for alternatives to owning a car.

Wayne State University members pay a $35 annual fee, and rates on all Zipcars start as low as $8 per hour and $66 per day. Gas, insurance, reserved parking spots, up to 180 miles of driving per day and roadside assistance are included in the hourly and daily Zipcar rates. Cars can be reserved for as little as an hour or for multiple days.

“Zipcar provides low-cost, accessible car-sharing in many cities across the country, and we look forward to our students, faculty and staff having even greater access to all Detroit has to offer,” said Timothy L. Michael, associate vice president of business and auxiliary operations and chief housing officer. “Zipcar will make it even easier to live on campus without the need for a personal automobile, in turn helping mitigate the high volume of traffic and limited parking in Midtown.”

To listen to a podcast about the program from Wayne State University, visit this link.

To start, Wayne State University will offer two vehicles, which will be located in parking structure 8, at 91 W. Forest Ave, between Cass and Woodward avenues, and in parking lot 41, at 5211 Anthony Wayne Drive. Zipcars are self-service and can be easily reserved and accessed 24 hours a day. Participating members with smartphones, including iPhones and Android devices, may download the Zipcar mobile application to make reservations, lock and unlock the vehicles, as well as honk the horn to help locate the vehicle. Reservations can also be made over the phone or by using the Zipcar Web site.

“Bringing Zipcar to Wayne State University will help reduce congestion and the demand for parking on campus, in addition to providing convenience, flexibility and cost savings to members,” said Mark Norman, Zipcar president and COO. “Zipcar also offers environmental benefits and can help Wayne State reduce its carbon footprint. National studies have shown that each car shared takes 15 privately owned vehicles off the road, and that vehicle miles traveled per driver are reduced almost 50 percent when car owners switch to car sharing.”

Among Zipcar’s existing partners are Michigan State University and the University of Michigan.